Bound by Actions
by Ryuusui
Summary: .INDEFINATE.hiatus. Actions bind even mortal enemies, no matter how hard they try to resist it. Sometimes, they even get you thinking... what if?
1. Prologue

Like, finally! I decided I needed a prologue, so here. Don't worry, I'm actually finished with chapter two. I just need it looked over.

A few things:  
There are going to be no more a/n things unless needed.  
If you have any questions, please review. I will respond with the 'reply' button  
No flames. Please?  
Have fun!

This plot has not been used before to my knowledge. Anything similar to the show, is not of my concern. I didn't do it on purpose. ;P

* * *

A candle flickers in a corner of the small room, letting off a small amount of light. The metal walls are cold, and reflect that light directly into my eyes. My room is not the biggest, but it _is_ large enough to be comfortable.

I should be meditating, but my father's commands control my thoughts.

_"Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure... I have a task for you. You are to take over Zhao's command over the expedition for the Avatar, as well as his search for the Blue Spirit. However, I believe he may already be dead as we speak... if not... you know what to do."_

_"I thought brother was dead."_

_"As did I. But, apparently, Zhao didn't get the facts from whoever told him of Zuko's passing."_

_"Should I dispose of him as well?"_

_"No need. Your uncle, is a different story..."_

_"I understand father."_

_"Good. You leave tomorrow. May Agni be with you."_

_"And also with you."_

I stand, staring at the pair of broadswords I had gotten for my coming of age. Zuko had also gotten a pair, but they were better. No one expected me to want to learn... I trained with him, beating him on occasion. We kept the practices secret, and not even father found out about them.

Maybe I should've told him about it. But, no matter... I doubt he's gotten any better.

A knock aroused me from my memories. A young servant opened the door nervously.

"Princess, we'll be docking soon."

"Thank you," I say, although not kindly. "Get back to work."

"Of course ma'am."

I shoot around, but the servant is gone. I don't like the tone of his voice, the words he chooses. The way he chooses to say them. It reminds me too much of Zuko. Defiance... It would not help me. I open my door and step out into the hall, breathing the still, heated air.

I couldn't wait to get outside.


	2. Questions

I suggest you read chapter one again, seeing as it's a prologue.

Things edited:  
Zhao Azula  
There we go!

* * *

The clouds gave way to sunlight, as a large flying bison took flight. It ascended quickly, as if needing to get out of the range of some invisible weapon. Its riders were silent, as was the creature itself, which gave the whole scene an eerie feel.

Uncomfortable, one of the riders attempted to break through the foggy emotion. He was about 15 or 16, and looked to be of the one of the two Water Tribes. His skin was a brown color, and he wore clothes of blue. No parka, as the seasons had shifted into middle spring by now. His name was Sokka.

He shivered and rubbed his hands together, trying to think up something to say. He opened his mouth…nothing. Every time he tried to speak, no words came out. Even if he thought of what he was going to say _beforehand_, he was unable to force his throat to produce sound.

Feeling slightly more dampened than before, although the day was as dry as a leaf in the middle of autumn, he settled down near the rear of the bison's saddle.

Another member of the water tribe sat across from Sokka. Their hair color was exactly the same, although Sokka's head was shaved except for the top. Their eyes were the same color as well. That was to be expected, for they were siblings. The girl, whose name was Katara, had her hair braided and wore blue (like her brother). However, her attire included a few things her brother's didn't. It was also lacking things her brother always seemed to carry. For example, Sokka almost always had his boomerang strapped to his back.

He was, after all, a warrior.

* * *

Katara always wore a canteen. She slept with it, and wandered with it. Katara of the Water Tribe was a waterbender. Although she wasn't a _master_, she was still fairly well off.

Shrinking into her corner of the bison's saddle, she thought about the boy with the arrows. He sat directly in front of her, staring out across the ocean. He had seemed so preoccupied after her and Sokka had gotten sick. It had gotten worse since the whole ordeal in the Northern Water Tribe She couldn't imagine why. Maybe it was just the whole 'Avatar' deal. He _did_ have a lot to think about.

But…there was something else. Something she just couldn't put her finger on.

'Could it have been? That night?'

_What night?_

Katara's thoughts dissipated, knew ones about time springing up. 'How long ago was that? Two months? Three months?' She hadn't exactly been keeping track of time. She did know it was some time during spring, but not exactly when.

'What even happened that night? Why did it take so long?' she thought, bringing herself back to the matter at hand.

She didn't know. She probably would never know. All she could recall was how wiped out the boy had looked. How his clothes were torn. How…down he looked. Thinking about it, she barely remembered what Sokka had said in his delusional state. Something about…friends?

"_Did you make any new friends?"_

That was it! Of course! What was the response…?

"_No…I don't think I did."_

'Now damn it!' Katara thought, surprising herself slightly. She barely cursed. If only she knew what happened…

* * *

When the flying bison reached its comfortable flying altitude, and had found a proper thermal, it grunted to the boy Katara worried so fiercely about. "Ok Appa," he murmured, replying to the bison's grunt.

Appa, apparently satisfied with this, grunted once more and fell silent.

The boy's name was Aang, and he was the last of his people. He wore the colors of the Air Nomads: yellow and orange. They seemed to be an autumn people, and chose autumn's colors. At least, they _were_ and autumn people. There weren't any airbenders left. But, not only was he the last of the airbenders, he was the Avatar. Reincarnated thousands of times before, he now had to save the world from the wrath of the Fire Nation in order to ensure peace. Ensure that a new Avatar would be born…

Quite a large job for a 12-year-old boy.

Aang had arrow tattoos on his head, hands, and currently covered feet. They all connected through his body, proving to be an intricate design that probably took a good deal of time. A small bat-like creature sat on his lap and cooed softly, trying to comfort the boy: who was obviously distressed.

"…_I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us. We'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had, and he was from the Fire Nation. Just like you... If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?"_

'I wonder,' he found himself wondering. He hadn't exactly gotten an answer. Unless one thought a fist of flames was an adequate response.

He had saved the Prince, again. And his Uncle didn't seem all that bad...

But no. Now wasn't the time of think such thoughts. Not when he had to 'rediscover' the small Earth Kingdom village they had helped to liberate only two months prior. Not when he needed to master earthbending! Not when the world needed saving!

'Was that regret in your eyes? Confusion perhaps? Were you trying to tell me something…? Did they tell me an answer?'

'_They could have,'_ his voice. And…he seemed to be laughing! At Aang! For not understanding!

'What was it!' Desperate now.

'_The answer? Well now…What do you think it was?'_

'I don't know…'

'_Then find out.'_

'How?'

…Silence…

* * *

A child (for that was what he was…at least, as much as a child as one who has been emotionally scared could be) sat in front of a row of four candles. They flickered, uncontrolled even when the child was clearly making his best attempt to control them.

Breathe out.

"_Kuzon…"_

The light in the room dimmed considerably, features of the child now less pronounced. The candles waned, but still they flickered. As if not completely controlled.

Breathe in.

_"Just like you…"_

The flames grew, as if breathing themselves. The shadows danced, the child now visible again. He seemed to be a 16, although his face seemed hardened. It might have had something to do with the scar which stood out like a light in complete darkness. His eyes were closed, but had they been open one would've stared into a deep pool of golden-like liquid. Amber even.

Breathe out.

_"Do you think we could've…"_

The candles flared briefly, and died.

"…_been friends too?"_

"That was a different time. A different way of thinking," the child said slowly, to himself if not to the voice that continued to haunt him.

If it wasn't for the dammed Avatar, he could have been at peace. He wouldn't necessarily have died, and he wouldn't have to feel as if he owed him something. The pain for the loss of his crew (who, although he would never admit it, was the closest thing to... a family than he had had. Even if he did order them around much too harshly... )

'_Why is this time different?'_ He shook his head. No. Not now. There were too many things at stake for him to get distracted by such trivial matters. It was only a question. Probably not even meant to be taken seriously.

But then…why did he take it as such?

Opening his eyes, he re-lit the candles with his finger and stood. He wore the armor which was widely feared by the world. Fire Nation armor. The child was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and he had been sent to capture the Avatar.

"I don't know why this time is different…It just is."

'_But is it really?' _the voice said seriously, uncharacteristic of the speaker. _'Is it really?'

* * *

_

The child's uncle, Iroh, stood outside his nephew's door. He was a chubby man, with rapidly whitening hair. Zuko made sure of that. Ah yes…Prince Zuko. He had been worrying the old man much more than usual lately. He hadn't eaten enough for a boy his age, although he did not seem to be malnourished. He had become less irritable, and even less sociable than he had been previously. After…the incident.

The Prince only seemed to leave his room when Iroh dragged him out for meals (not literally, of course), or the Avatar was spotted.

The Avatar. Zuko even seemed to be less enthusiastic about hunting the Avatar. Regaining his honor. The caring uncle that he was, he often checked in on his clearly troubled nephew. Trying to prove to himself that it was just a phase. That the Prince was just distracted by some elaborate plan. That needed two months to perfect. Was it even two months?

That didn't matter.

So here he stood, outside that door. More often he had started to hesitate before entering silently, dreading what he might (or might not) find. He debated with himself, trying to find a pattern in his nephew's erratic behavior. He was still standing there when Zuko opened the door.

"Uncle?" he asked with a raised 'brow.

"Prince Zuko! I was just about to knock," Iroh said quickly, disguising his emotions with a stone face. The Fire Lord's army was good for something it seemed.

"Why?" His tone was suspicious.

"I just wanted to update you on the whereabouts of the Avatar, and offer you a cup of calming Jasmine tea."

Ignoring the offer of tea, Zuko waited impatiently. "Well?" he asked.

"I was thinking we'd discuss that over the t-"

Zuko cut him off with a sigh and a tired look. "Uncle," he started, and stopped.

"Come now nephew. Let's go." Iroh winced as nearby candles flared, but only briefly.

"Why do I even bother?" Zuko muttered in defeat, following his Uncle.

* * *

"Princess, you asked for the reports on…"

"Yes. Admiral Zhao allowed the Blue Spirit to escape, without even notifying the Fire Lord, so you more than know that as well as hunting for the Avatar, I must track him down as well. I'm not in a good mood, get this over with quickly."

"Of course, my Princess," the soldier said hastily. "It appears we have received an anonymous tip," he added, holding out a sealed scroll. "I wasn't sure whether or not to-"

She grabbed the scroll out of the soldier's hands, mumbling something that sounded like "dismissed." The soldier bowed deeply, and left.

As the Princess read the letter, a malicious grin broke out upon her face. Re-reading it, the grin grew broader.

"You _have_ been practicing, my Brother. You will pay dearly for your mistake."


	3. Orders

Many, many, many, many, many, many, many thanks to my wonderful beta : Arekisu! 'specially for fixing up the dialogue at the end. Hehehe… You guys finally get your update! -jumps in hole- … -climbs back out- Oh yes, a disclaimer… -twitches-  
**I do not own Avatar : TLA… or anything really. o0;

* * *

**

"I think Appa's hurt," Aang said, leaping from his spot on the bison's head. He inspected Appa's tail and sighed. "We won't be able to fly until he's healed. And, flying bison usually take longer to heal than most other creatures."

"What? We just barely escaped from Prince hot-head, again, and you're saying that if he catches up to us here we won't be able to get away?"

"Sokka, calm down!" Katara was naturally worried as well. She didn't like this particular predicament at all. "Aang had no way to prevent Appa's injury. We'll just have to make the most of it. And, pray to the gods that watch over us that we won't get found."

Sokka shot a glare at his sister, but understood. "How can we make the most out of this, then?"

Aang brightened up and jumped over to be near the siblings. "We all need the rest, anyways. Zuko's been keeping us on our... well, you get my point! Everyone needs a break every once in awhile. Hopefully, so does Zuko."

Snorting, Sokka redirected his attention to unloading the hurt bison and setting up camp. He quickly became immersed in it, and his anger-level dropped back down to its usual.

Trying to busy herself as well, Katara turned to the young monk. "Is there anything I could do to help Appa? Find some herbs?"

A flash of immense gratitude crossed his features, but was erased by one of thought. "Well, I don't know the herbs around here. We could easily poison Appa. But, maybe you could try your Waterbending?"

"I could try," she said, unsure. "Burns are one thing, but I can't even see Appa's injury."

Aang smiled sadly. "It's okay Katara. If you feel you... well, it's okay."

"No, no! I'll try! It's just..."

"Maybe I could help too," Aang said. "I think he's strained a muscle in his tail. He might've fractured the bone, or worse. Could you just help him feel better? He can heal on his own time, unless you feel you can heal him as well."

"Uhh... like I said, I can try."

"Thanks, Katara," the young Avatar said, smiling. Appa groaned from behind him, causing Aang to laugh.

"Appa says thanks too."

A little of the pressure lifted off her shoulders as she walked to inspect the bison's tail for herself. Regular Waterbending wouldn't work here. She'd have to bend the water that was already inside Appa. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes, concentrating. Not wanting to injure him anymore, she only tried to massage the hurt area.

However, finding the hurt area proved to be a task in itself...

* * *

_Father,_

_I write to inform you of the progress in the search for the Avatar. Regretfully, the boy always seems to slip through our fingertips. He has already mastered the art of Waterbending, and is beginning to learn Earthbending maybe even as we speak. But I assure you, however, our luck seems to be turning for the better._

_Reports of the Avatar's bison have been coming in from one area particularly. They appear to have landed on the island of Jyingse, and don't seem to be in a great hurry to leave. I'm planning on attacking them there but, there are... difficulties._

_They seem to be watching the shores. Their pet... 'bat-thing' has been patrolling the coastline every other day. One of the Water Tribe children have also been sighted. The Avatar, however, has not been. But, he is there._

_There has also been... more interesting, although certainly not more important, news. The Blue Spirit, who helped the Avatar escape from our grasp yet again, seems to have revealed himself. Or, someone has revealed him. However, I wish to bring him in as well as the Avatar. To do so, I need more than what I have in my command._

_Fire Lord Ozai, I request Dragon Riders. I have been informed that they have not been sent on any mission, of any sort, for twenty some-odd years. I would not request their service, if I believed they were not needed._

_I hope to hear word soon._

The Princess signed her letter to the Fire Lord and rolled it up. She stamped the royal seal on the parchment, and whistled for the soldier who had been told to stand outside the tent-flap.

As she stuck it in a metal container, the soldier nearly ran in not wanting to be criticized for wasting any time. "Send this off to Fire Lord Ozai on the fastest hawk we have. It must get to him by the time the sun sets tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." He took the container and hurried to get it sent.

Everything was going quite well for the Princess. She would have the Avatar soon... but, not before breaking her brother. How she would enjoy that!

And as soon as he (and the Avatar, of course) was out of the way, nothing could stop her from ascending the throne.

* * *

Iroh smiled, drinking deeply from his cup until there were only a few drops left. "Now Prince Zuko, the Avatar has been spotted on the island of Jyingse. He seems to be taking great strides to avoid being caught off-gaurd. I assume his animal guide is hurt."

The Prince nearly choked on his tea. 'Now is the perfect chance! Nothing can stop me this time... not when he can't get away..."

His uncle laughed. "Don't get carried away my nephew, there is more. It appears your sister has taken over Zhao's--" (Zuko visibly shivered, remembering his last encounter with the Admiral... and, as we all know, Zuko is _not_ the shivering type) "--task of capturing the Avatar."

"What?" Zuko's cup of tea boiled and nearly burned.

"Careful now," Iroh said, concerned. "There is still more."

"What more could there possibly be, Uncle?" His previous thoughts whisked from his mind with this news.

"She also has been assigned the task of looking, and executing, the Blue Spirit."

All emotion drained from the Prince's face, which was also now much paler. "Wh... why?" he managed to stutter, trying not to seem too affected. He didn't take his Uncle for an idiot, but if he didn't know... then Zuko wasn't going to be the one to tell him. At least, not yet.

"I do not know," he said calmly, either not noticing or ignoring his nephew's reaction."My brother is as much of a mystery to me as he is to the next person. However, if he feels the Blue Spirit is enough of a threat to him to have him killed, then I do pray to Agni for him. There are only a few things in this world worse than being hunted down by Ozai."

_DAMN! _Zuko thought, fist clenching his cup of tea as a wave of self-loathing overtook him._ Why did I even bother saving him, anyway? ...Why?_

"That is not our concern at the moment anyway. I don't even know why I brought it up. It must be the old man within me, eh?"

"Why... her?" he said with disgust, not even bothering to hide his hatred towards his sister.

"You know what your father thinks of her. It's one of the few things he doesn't bother to bottle up inside. That, and his temper. She is very skilled with Firebending also. Maybe Ozai thinks she can overpower the young Avatar... truthfully, I have no idea. But, she obviously does not want to disappoint him."

Zuko snarled, "I want to be left alone. I'll be in my room... only disturb me when we are withing two miles of Jyingse."

"Of course, my nephew," he said, perfectly understanding the boy. "I'll tell the Helmsman to change course immediately."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Sokka!"

"What?"

"You ate all the food! Again!"

"It's not my fault! Warriors need to eat, ya know!"

"Ughhh! I'm going for a walk!"

"Okay, Katara... just don't get lost. Sokka can't cook, ya know?"

"HEY!"

She smiled softly and nodded, heading off.


End file.
